martedì 24 giugno 2014

Matteo da Perugia - Hélas Avril - Chansons

Matteo de Perugia (or Perusio) was closely involved in the compilation of the famous Modena manuscript which serves as one of the finest sources of Ars Subtilior music. The one clear detail of his life, besides the manuscript which is his legacy, is that he took up a leading musical post in Milan in 1402. Here Memelsdorff takes the position that he was fully worthy of status as a leading composer in the style, and not someone whose retrospective position came largely from having been close to the copyist. Both positions have certainly been advocated over the years. In any case, Perugia's approach to music was fairly unique, representing something of an (unfollowed) transition between the "Ars Subtilior" and the generation of Dufay.